The biggest beneficiary of Iowa’s film tax credit boondoggle is in for more Iowa hospitality than he hoped for. Dennis Brouse faces up to 10 years in prison after a Polk County jury convicted him yesterday on a charge of “fraudulent practice” for claiming improper tax credits from the Iowa Film Program. He was acquitted on two other charges.
In happier times, Mr. Brouse had programs on up to 170 public TV stations, according to the Des Moines Register.
The prosecution charged that Mr. Brouse claimed inflated values for expenditures on films produced in Iowa. The state awarded him $9.2 million in transferable tax credits for the pretend spending, which he sold to investors at a discount for cash. From the Register’s story:
Brouse made $3.1 million after his expenses were paid and he obtained the state
Tags: corporate welfare, Dennis Brouse, economic development, film credit criminal investigation, film credits, harold hill, Lee Rood
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[...] agains the power of the state, and its bureaucrats and elected officials who facilitate the looting, not against the unsubsidized who get up early, stay late and grow their businesses without special [...]